a bit of this and that, finding inspiration (and joy!) everywhere

I’ve been feeling so inspired lately. My garden is providing me with abundant painting ideas, but more than that, it seems everywhere I look I see beauty and find encouragement from people who are living authentic, creative lives.

inspiration, joy, life, artAnne ButeraJune 28, 2019inspiring women, inspiring people, inspiration, finding inspiration in the little things, being open to inspiration, joy, adding joy to the world, art, Lisa Estabrook, Amy Butler, painting from the garden, Flow Magazine, Flow Tear Off Calendar, word of the year, grow, Franziska Meiners, Angie Noll, Doodle Journal, Dana Barbieri, Jordan Clark, Commonplace Book, oracle cards, oracle deck, Jessica Swift, self-care, self-imposed limitations, being yourself, newsletter, links, how to break free from self-imposed limitations, Abby Glassenberg, Denise Schmidt, unplugging, summer, savoring each day, journaling, writing in my journal, Ruby Josephine Smith, focus, focus on beauty, refocusing, joyletter, messages from the universe, making mistakes Comments

Why Joy?

I talk about JOY a lot. The word is up there in my logo. It write about JOY in my blog posts. I describe my paintings with the word and when you sign up for my newsletter I send you a set of Joy Lists as a thank you. On top of that, I call my newsletter a JOYLetter.

In the Garden Lately

I’ve been spending as much time as possible in my garden.

The dogs love being outside, too. During the week Jude goes with Matthias to his shop and Charlie stays home with me until I need to leave for my job at the library.

garden, joy, inspiration, sketchbooks, paintings, artAnne ButeraJune 14, 2019garden, gardening, the purpose of a garden, artist gardener, inspiration, garden inspiration, garden flowers, harvest, harvesting herbs, preserving herbs, preserving the harvest, perserving chives in vinegar, infusing chives in vinegar, sketchbooks, colored pencil, strathmore 400 series softcover journal, Prismacolor, garden projects, garden as sanctuary, gardeners' relationships with their gardens, Anne Butera, watercolor, watercolors, botanical art, botanical watercolor, columbine, yellow columbine, watercolor illustrations, watercolor columbine illustration, roses, head over heels rose, in my garden, garden studio, portable studio, mixing colors, greyhounds, retired racing greyhounds, window boxes, windowbox planters, cats, rescue cats, black and white cats, herbs, raised beds, cinder block raised beds, fuchsias, lemon balm, lemon balm for tea, drying lemon balm for tea, using herbs from the garden Comments

The Joy of Whirly Birds! (Maple Seeds)

All week long I’ve been painting whirly birds.* That’s what I used to call maple seeds when I was young.

At this time of year when the seeds come helicoptering to the ground it’s hard not to feel a surge of childlike joy. I walk around with my eyes to the ground trying to find the most interesting ones.

Keep Going

This week I painted bleeding hearts with the paint I mixed last week.

It’s lovely to be working with flowers from the garden again. But it’s also been a bit frustrating trying to get back into a groove of art-making and gardening and all the other stuff that life demands.

Lessons in Patience

It’s another rainy day today. Last week I wrote about making time for the garden, but since then I haven’t been able to spend much time outside. It’s been too wet and cold.

I’ve been thinking a lot about patience. I’d say I’m a fairly patient person.

Around Here Lately

I haven’t yet gotten around to painting more tulips. I’ve been a little busy. But also standing firm against overwhelm. I’m determined to take my days slow and to enjoy the spring. Oh how I love this time of year. The relief from winter. Being able to play with flowers and dig in the dirt.

Allowing Do-Overs

Over the past week I was painting tulips. I’ve painted tulips before. Even earlier this year from a grocery store bouquet.

This time I was so excited to be working on a painting with flowers from my garden. The first time this season.

Slow Going (and that's ok)

I came back from a trip to Seattle at 2 am on Wednesday morning and since then I’d been struggling to get back into the swing of things.

That is, until I realized that I could let go of the pressure to do, do, do and give myself time to rest and readjust.

Taking a Little Break

I’m taking a little break and soaking up some inspiration.

I hope you are taking time to savor life’s joys, whatever you might be doing. Even on an ordinary day we can find things to celebrate.

life, joyAnne ButeraApril 26, 2019taking time for yourself, celebrating life's little joys, taking time to savor life's joys, joy, vacation, time off, blog break, inspiration, finding inspiration, searching for inspirationComment

Sketchbook Revival

I talk about sketchbooks quite a bit around here. They’re one of my favorite ways to create. The art I make there, the practice and play, is special. I sometimes share my pages here and on social media and I’ve shared physical sketchbooks with Dana Barbieri, but most of my pages are just for me. And I cherish that.

Carving Out Time for Art

Today I’m taking over the Carve Out Time for Art Instagram account. I’m so honored to have been asked to share my day with that creative community. Carve Out Time for Art was created by Marissa Huber and Heather Kirtland and this is what they have to say about it:

More Art Supply Love -- Kuretake Watercolors and Some Pens

A few weeks ago I wrote about how much I was enjoying playing with acrylic craft paint and mentioned there were other art supplies I wanted to share. I find it so hard to resist the pull of new art supplies. It’s probably a good thing that there isn’t an art supply store nearby!

What does it mean to be creative?

My friend Ruby recently wrote a blog post about reclaiming the word creativity and it got me thinking. To be honest, it fired me up. I love discussions like this. I love thinking about and talking about creativity. I wrote a response to Ruby on her blog and then I thought I’d take my thoughts and craft them into a blog post of my own to extend the conversation.

Looking Back and Looking Forward

Today is my birthday. I love birthdays. When I was a child my mom always made them so special. I guess I never let go of the joy of celebrating my day.

Celebrating The 5th Handmade Joy Exchange

Back in January I opened an invitation to the 5th Handmade Joy Exchange. I hosted the first one in 2012 and three more after that. Each one was such fun. It was great to get to know some new people, to facilitate new friendships and to help spread joy around the world.

joy, creativityAnne ButeraMarch 15, 2019handmade joy exchange, joy, joy swap, joy exchange, exchange, art exchange, craft exchange, spreading joy, snail mail, giving, gratitude, generosity, adding joy to the world, sharing our talents Comments

Battling the Winter Blahs

Spring might be on its way (according to meteorologists it’s already here), but it certainly doesn’t feel like it in Wisconsin. Does it feel like spring where you are?

Trying (and loving) New Things: Acrylic Craft Paint

Recently I’ve had to edit the wording of my bio for a few different things. In one version I say “She works primarily in watercolor but also loves challenging herself to try new things.” It’s true.

Trying new things is fun and exciting. Part of the fun is getting to play with new supplies.

More Thoughts on Blogs and Blogging

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts (in comments and email) after my questions about blogs in last week’s post. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking after reading what you wrote; your words brought about a few epiphanies for me.

blogging, inspiration, joyAnne ButeraFebruary 22, 2019blogging, connection, creating community, is blogging dead, blogging is not dead, favorite blogs, mary oliver, quotes, paying attention, noticing beauty, joy Comments

Being (and Loving) Yourself (or, On Blogging)

When I’m planning, I write blog topics for the week on my calendar, often scheduling the whole month at once. Sometimes those topics will be crossed out or directed with arrows to other weeks. Because inspiration supersedes planning, sometimes a post will bounce from week to week to week before I finally get around to it and then sometimes by the time I sit down to write the post, I can’t entirely remember what I wanted to say.

blogging, joy, lifeAnne ButeraFebruary 15, 2019blogging, winter, winter blahs, overcoming the winter blahs, what's happening in my studio, valentine's day, loving yourself, being brave Comments

notes from the studio